Looking for an example of a Dragon Lady character from TV/Movies for a Pulp campaign.

[KA.]

I have been thinking of trying out a Pulp Hero campaign for my players.

Thanks to comic reprints, they are familiar with some of the genre staples:
Mad Scientists
Oriental Masterminds
Evil Mystics

But I can't find a good example of the "Dragon Lady" type.
The mysterious Oriental beauty that can go from stealing the Hero's secret plans, to becoming his love interest, to trying to poison him, all in one adventure.
I know I could probably dig up some books eventually, but players are never all that patient, so can anyone recommend any films or TV shows that might be available on video with a decent Dragon Lady?

Thanks in advance,

KA.

[st barbara]

I seem to remember that there is a Japanese "Dragon Lady" type featured in "Tales Of The Gold Monkey", complete with samurai sidekick !

[Lord Liaden]

If what you're looking for is an example of the character type that you can show around to your players so they know what to expect, the one that comes to my mind would be Fah Lo Suee (sp?), the daughter of Fu Manchu in Sax Rohmer's novel series. She was introduced and was the central character in Daughter of Fu Manchu. IIRC there was an old Hammer Studios film starring Christopher Lee as Fu Manchu in which Fah Lo Suee featured prominently. That might be on video somewhere.

Now if you want a character like that for your campaign, and you have or don't mind buying Digital Hero #2, you'll find the perfect one: Ma Lin Yao, the Jade Dragon Queen. She's exactly the kind of character you describe, designed to be a mastermind in a pulp-era campaign, and fully statted.

[Egyptoid]

the madame from the brothel
in big trouble in little china

[gewing]

the madame from the brothel
in big trouble in little china

stretching a little, but the naga in "the golden Child"?

I can't remember, was there a dragon lady type in Hawaii five o or Magnum PI?

[ldorn]

You also might want to track down copies of Terry and the Pirates reprints. They had a character called the Dragon Lady who was the basis for that character type.

[ldorn]

You also might want to track down copies of Terry and the Pirates reprints. They had a character called the Dragon Lady who was the basis for that character type. I also beleve that there was a Terry and the Pirates serial, but do not remember if the Dragon Lady was one of the characters.

[Supreme Serpent]

The evil princess from the Buck Rogers in the 25th Century show is basically a dragon lady.

[Vanguard00]

Maybe Bai Ling's character in "Sky Captain"? 'Mysterious Lady', I think she was. Might be a reach.

"Terry and the Pirates" (both a comic strip and a serial in the 30s/40s) had a character named "The Dragon Lady". The serial sucked, but the comic was way cool.

Lastly, I'd go with Lucy Liu's character in "Kill Bill Vol. 1". Not fully developed as a traditional plot device, and maybe a bit of a reach genre-wise, but she certainly fits the (potential) character type.

[shadowcat1313]

as a modern western dragon lady if such a thing can exist, the character of Miss Parker from the Pretender?

[Basil]

For a humorous version, check out Angie Dickinson in "Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen"
;)

[Karmakaze]

It's not far east, and comic books/cartoons to boot, but Talia from Batman comes close to qualifying...

[ThothAmon]

The titular character from 'Bride With The White Hair' would fit the bill nicely :)

[Starwolf]

The character played by Ketherine Zeta Jones in "The Phantom"

[Vanguard00]

Lady de Winter in "The Three Musketeers". Amoral, beautiful, seductive, subtle, manipulative...she's got it all, baby.

[loraxxx]

"the lizard lady"--from the TROUBLE WITH GIRLS tpb--funny, but fits the bill nicely....

and VIPER, from MARVEL comics

[Major Tom]

Let's see... some examples of Dragon Lady-type characters that come to mind
right now:

The Sarah Douglas character from Conan The Destroyer.

Princess Aura from the original Flash Gordon movie serials.

The Tia Carerra (not sure about the spelling) character from Kull The Conqueror
(at least until she turned into that butt-ugly demon toward the end of the
movie).


Major Tom :cool:

[Michael Hopcroft]

If you're willing to look to sci-fi for an example, consider Servalan of Blakes 7. She fills all the characteristics to a tee, complete with a massive case of sexual tension between her and one of the lead characters (Avon) which is legendary to this day.

If the Doctor Who villainess the Rani had any sort of interest in men, she'd qualify.

Star Wars would have been improved immesnely by the addition of a character like that on the side of the Empire.

[st barbara]

Having looked at the collection of names that have been put forward causes mr to wonder . What is the collective noun for Dragon Lady's ? A slink perhaps ?

[the Evil DM]

do a google image search of Anna May Wong and you will find your Dragonlady.

http://us_asians.tripod.com/features-am-wong.html

http://silentladies.com/PWong.html

[tkdguy]

Not a pulp movie, but "Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!" may give you some ideas. I guess I should warn you about the language, violence and (implied) sexuality in the link.

http://www.brightlightsfilm.com/16/pcat.html